Supply Chain decisions need to become Faster, More Frequent and More Balanced. Does the answer lie in a Center of Excellence?

Supply chain disruptions are increasing and the new normal is that the supply chain needs to accommodate today’s dynamics in terms of economy and global trade dynamics as well as other disruptions either internal or external driven. Do companies need to invest in a Supply Chain Center of Excellence (CoE)? A CoE can transform reactive supply chains into pro-active, but is no silver bullet. Reality is that still many CoEs operate on a project by project approach and are not (yet) successful in tackling the data challenges. Living Network Models and AI-enhanced digital twins for scenario planning can provide substantial value add in providing faster, more frequent and balanced decision making capability. In order to reap the benefits of a CoE it is crucial to have a clear scope and business purpose combined with a data lake and living or Always On model with the right talent to operate such CoE.

 

The Pain in Today’s Supply Chains

In Today’s Supply Chain, leadership demands answers within hours to a few weeks, which requires a more pro-active approach. Traditional planning systems are too slow and fragmented to keep up, data lives in silos and is based on the status quo not considering future scenarios.

Common pain points include:

• Inability to simulate and assess supply chain scenarios across functions
• Delayed or inconsistent response to disruptions
• Over-reliance on manual processes or legacy planning systems
• Lack of visibility into supplier risk or logistics performance
   

A Center of Excellence: Ambition and reality

A well-designed Supply Chain Center of Excellence (CoE) provides the digital, organizational, and analytical infrastructure to answer today’s complex questions quickly and accurately. The CoE ambition and potential include:

• Consolidate expertise and systems to support enterprise-wide decision-making
• Enables end-to-end visibility, planning, and simulation through digital twins and living network models
• Uses standardized frameworks to drive consistency in cost modeling, network design, and risk evaluation

Not all companies operating a CoE are there yet. A large beer company is more advanced in the upstream planning and aligning different sources towards a central data system and decision-making tool for the planning. Other tech companies are also further ahead in the journey, but reality is companies are struggling to demonstrate the value and building-up the capabilities. A large chemicals company shut down the majority of their CoE recently for cost savings and headcount reasons. Several companies that operate a CoE have only a handful people in the CoE with a re-active mindset and a focus on strategic network design instead of proactively driving improvements and innovation and creating value beyond initiating cost savings in the supply chain.

Towards an Always ON or  Living Network Model

Unlike static models, living network models represent an Always ON, continuously updated digital replica of the end-to-end supply chain. These tools can simulate future scenarios, instead of only emulation and provide a risk signaling function, rather than awaiting questions from leadership. These models support nearly real time network planning, product flow routing, tariff optimization, asset and resource allocation, and long-term investment decisions. Key in developing such Living Network Model is to scope out what the objectives and questions are that such model needs to address. Think for instance on the end to end scope vs only upstream or tariffs. Or the level of granularity in terms of SKU and Bill Of Material information as well as the time horizons for decision making – nearly real term vs monthly, quarterly or even further out decision making.

In order to have an Always On model, companies need to have the data at their fingertips, which can be a challenge on its own.

 

Capabilities required in a CoE and critical success factors

The capabilities and key success factors to achieve the full potential of a CoE includes the following:

• Clear business case / value desired from the CoE including functional scope (i.e. only finished goods or full end to end supply chain decision making)
• Establishing and maintaining a focused data lake. This starts with the questions that needs to be answered, making sure you have like-for-like definitions and are able to consistently maintain the data on a frequent basis. Many companies are struggling with Master Data management.
• Demonstrate the value for the business and build sufficient staffing and related governance. The value add sits in financial benefits but can include innovation, time to market, lead time compression, post M&A integration, resilience to name a few. Having a clear goal is important to secure funding, staffing and communicating to the business what they can expect.
• Build-up capabilities including resources and frameworks that can be repeated for different initiatives without striving for perfection

 

How to implement /deploy a CoE

Where to start? Companies that are considering to start-up a CoE should first define a North Star and define a roadmap. Consider a CoE as a plant that needs to grow: start small and  select those projects that have demonstrable benefits (e.g. shortest ROI) and can be realized in months rather than years. This can provide self fuelling benefits to re-invest and grow the CoE.  Make sure the CoE is pro-active in coming up with initiatives that are driven by data analytics and rolling out best practices instead of waiting for the business to come to you with questions.

What BCI Global Can Do

With 40 years of experience across five continents and 200+ supply chain experts, BCI Global is uniquely positioned to help companies establish or enhance their Supply Chain Center of Excellence.

Our services include:

• Strategy and roadmap development for CoEs
• Data architecture and systems integration
• Network design and digital twin modeling
• Talent model and governance frameworks
• Implementation support and long-term transformation management

Whether the goal is to reduce logistics costs, improve service levels, increase resilience, or meet sustainability targets, BCI Global delivers solutions that are tailored, scalable, and future-ready.

Start the Conversation

Supply chain leaders must act now to remain competitive in an unpredictable world. A Center of Excellence is not a luxury—it is a necessity.

Contact us to explore how BCI Global can help design, build, and operate a CoE that delivers tangible business impact.